SEATTLE — A week after perhaps their most lackluster showing of the season, the Seattle Seahawks bounced back with gusto Sunday night, handing the defending NFC champion Carolina Panthers a 40-7 whopping on a cold but thankfully precipitation-less night at CenturyLink Field.
Coming off last week’s dismal 14-5 loss at Tampa Bay, Seattle took out its frustration on the once formidable but currently meager Panthers. The Seahawks dominated the visitors from the outset, building a 23-7 halftime lead and then turning the game into a rout throughout a one-sided second half.
“These guys have a pretty good sense of who we are, and they realize (last week) was a terrible demonstration and there’s no reason to dwell on it,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “So let’s put it behind us, let’s get going, let’s get back to the real (Seahawks), and they showed that in fantastic fashion tonight.”
“We just wanted to get back to being us,” Seahawks center Justin Britt said. “We felt like last week (at Tampa Bay) wasn’t us. It sucked that it happened, but games like that sort of reset you and humble you and get you back to reality. So we got back to work, we had a great week of practice and preparation, and it showed tonight.”
As impressive as the victory was, it was also costly. Free safety Earl Thomas, who had started all 118 games in his Seahawks career before missing the Tampa Bay game with a hamstring injury, suffered a broken left leg after colliding with teammate Kam Chancellor while defending a pass play early in the second quarter. He could be finished for the season.
“It’s disappointing, obviously, to lose a guy like Earl Thomas,” Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson said. “He’s the best in the league (at his position) … but we’ll be OK.”
With the victory, the 8-3-1 Seahawks protected their three-game lead in the NFC West over second-place Arizona, a 31-23 winner vs. Washington on Sunday. Seattle also maintains a half-game lead over 8-4 Detroit of the NFC North for the No. 2 conference record among division leaders (the Lions beat New Orleans 28-13), while raising their margin over NFC South co-leaders Atlanta and Tampa Bay to 1½ games.
As good as the Seahawks were, the Panthers were correspondingly inept. On Carolina’s first play from scrimmage, a pass from backup quarterback Derek Anderson — he started for Cam Newton, who sat out the start for an apparent dress-code violation (he evidently did not wear a tie, as required by coach Ron Rivera) — bounced off the hands of fullback Mike Tolbert and was snagged by Seattle linebacker Mike Morgan. His return gave the Seahawks a first down at the Carolina 8-yard line, leading to a Steven Hauschka field goal.
Seattle’s next possession reached the end zone, the result of a dandy nine-play, 92-yard drive, highlighted by a flat pass from quarterback Russell Wilson to Tyler Lockett that the speedy wide receiver turned into a 40-yard gain up the left sideline. The final 8 yards came on a burst by running back Thomas Rawls through the left side, capped by a leap across the goal line between two Panther defenders.
Carolina trimmed the deficit to 10-7 early in the second quarter on a 55-yard TD pass from Newton to Ted Ginn Jr., with the wide receiver slipping behind Seattle backup safety Steven Terrell one play after the Thomas injury. But the Seahawks responded with another Rawls touchdown run, this one covering 45 yards, and two more Hauschka field goals in the final 1:45 of the first half.
Seattle then broke the game open on the first play from scrimmage of the second half, freeing Lockett on a fly sweep up the right sideline. Lockett eluded Carolina safety Michael Griffin at the corner and outraced safety Tre Boston 75 yards to the end zone. It was the longest run from scrimmage by a Seahawks player in CenturyLink Field history.
Seattle later added a touchdown on a 1-yard pass from Wilson to tight end Jimmy Graham, capping a 10-play, 84-yard drive, and then a fourth Hauschka field goal in the closing minutes.
When it was over, Seattle’s totals were a night-and-day contrast to last week’s offensive debacle at Tampa Bay. Seven days after managing a mere field goal against the Buccaneers (the Seahawks also got a safety), they set season highs for total yards (534), rushing yards (240), first downs (29) and points (40).
Seattle has four remaining games on its regular-season schedule, beginning with next Sunday’s game at Green Bay. The Seahawks then finish with games against all three NFC West foes — at home against Los Angeles on Dec. 15 (a Thursday night) and Arizona on Dec. 24 (a Saturday), before closing at San Francisco on New Year’s Day.
If a 16-game NFL season can be divided into four four-game segments, then “this is fourth-quarter time for us,” Carroll said. “We have four games left, so this is a big moment for us to try to finish this season on a big note.”
“We pride ourselves on finishing,” added defensive end Cliff Avril, “and now we’re in the last quarter of the season. So it was most definitely big for us to go out tonight and get this W, and then to try to finish the season strong.”
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